Added To, Taken From
by TamChronin
Summary: (Utena/X) Akio searches for a new rose bride. Hokuto and Kotori find themselves at Ohtori Adademy, candidates for this position. Anthy knows, however, that this is not the answer...but she's in the "real world", and has finally found Utena...as the world
1. After Hours

**_Added To, Taken From _**

After Hours 

The apartment was dark, lit only by a street lamp outside the window peeking through the slats of Venetian blinds. The sounds of the city filtered through the closed glass and through the walls themselves, though it was a sound the occupant was now accustomed to. Neighbors going about their own routines also added to the background noise, but that was no matter. The hum and then almost silent hiss of the air conditioner started, and all outside noise became even more inconsequential. 

A soft knock at the door brought the occupant out of her silent reverie. She padded across the plush carpet with a nearly silent tread. She opened the lock with a soft click, then pulled the door open with a soft, almost unnoticed creak. "Who--" 

"I found you." 

The two women stared at each other in shock. The door fell the rest of the way open as the apartment's pink haired occupant fell to her knees and the doorknob slipped from her fingers. Her other hand flew to her open mouth and her bluer than blue eyes began to blink quickly as tears began to well up. 

"What are you doing here?" she asked softly. 

The other didn't seem to hear. "I found you, I found you just in time." 

The building was rocked in a sudden earthquake, screams were heard around them and crashing sounds as objects flew off shelves. Car alarms were heard from the distant street. Everything swayed, even the air around them wavered. Soon they were both on their hands and knees, huddling in the doorway together. The earthquake finally came to an end with the building still standing and the electricity still on, so they rose with shaky sighs and shared the smiles that only survivors share. 

"I've lived here since...since then...and I'm still not used to the earthquakes. There were never any earthquakes at the Academy. At least, not the physical sort." 

Her pale hands were shaking like leaves as she reached for the doorframe to brace herself. A darker hand reached out to take the extended hand, and the pink-haired girl gasped. Her eyes slid slowly closed and her head bowed. "Why are you here, Anthy?" 

"I've been looking for you for a very long time, Utena...sama...." The last was said with a wistful smile and a searching look, almost as if she were seeking permission to use the honorific again. 

"Anthy." Utena said the name so softly, it was a whisper of sound that carried with it the weight of the world. "You killed me. You let me die. I trusted you." 

"No, I didn't kill you. I made you live." 

Utena nodded, agreeing and accepting that as truth. Still, tears began to slide from her eyes and she reached out to her friend. "It didn't matter. None of that matters. I missed you and I wanted to see you again. You're my friend. I thought I'd never see you again, I've been here so long. I thought you'd abandoned me for--" 

"Shhhh..." Anthy placed a finger over Utena's lips, barely touching. "I'm here now." 

The world began to intrude on their moment as sirens wailed down the street and people began milling down the hall. A large man walked over with concern etched clearly on his face and asked if they were okay. The young women nodded, then one by one accepted his help in standing. They each thanked him for his kindness, and then Utena invited her old friend into the apartment. She flipped the light switch on and a harsh glow lit the stark space. Everything was black and white here. The room was cold and impersonal, lacking the personal touches Utena had added to their dorm room. That had all been left behind in that other world of course, but enough time had passed that new mementos should have filled the space. 

"I don't know if I like this real world," Utena admitted softly. "I thought that all I wanted was to bring you into it, but I found myself here alone. Now I'm not so sure." 

"Would you go back if you could, Utena-sama?" It was the same sweet tone that Anthy had always used, but now Utena could hear an undertone to it. She had stripped away the truth of her friend. She had found reality. There was a hint of danger and a touch of warning in those words. 

"Now that you're here, I want to stay where you are." 

Something shifted about the smaller girl, some subtle change overtook her. Her smile now seemed more real. Her eyes contained fewer secrets. "Thank you, Utena." Her silky voice sounded genuinely grateful. 

"We'll be best friends forever now?" 

"Of course." 

~@~

The first thing that Sumeragi Hokuto was aware of was the overpowering scent of roses. Before her eyes even opened she was aware of the sweet and haunting fragrance, stronger than she had ever smelled before. She shifted and felt a million soft fingers caress her skin, and she knew without looking that rose petals surrounded her. Slightly more motion let her know that she was curled up in a tightly enclosed space. She opened her eyes in panic, but when she did the entire world changed. She was on a balcony. There was a wrought iron table painted white and three matching chairs, all decorated with roses. Tea had been set out for three, and upon the cups and saucers the same rose pattern appeared. 

Hokuto closed her eyes experimentally, only to find that she was still aware of being in an enclosed space. As her eyes flew open she was still overwhelmed by the scent of roses. "This is unexpected," she murmured to herself softly. "I never would have thought roses...." 

"What?" A girl's voice interrupted her thoughts. When Hokuto had opened her eyes the first time she had been sure she was alone, but now a girl her own age was standing slightly behind her, just out of her line of sight. 

The two turned to face each other, smiling in greeting. "Oh, it's nothing! You'd think I'm silly, but I thought if I'd be seeing flowers they'd be sakura, not roses." 

The girl blinked, nonplussed, but shrugged off her confusion. "Well, anyway, I'm pleased to meet you! I'm Monou Kotori." She bowed formally, and then straightened with a wide smile. 

Hokuto returned the bow with a smile of her own. "I'm Sumeragi Hokuto, pleased to meet you as well." 

Kotori looked startled, gaping a little. "You're the one Kakyou mentioned," she said softly. "You've been here a long time then, right?" 

"You know Kakyou? I don't know him very well, but I was looking forward to getting to know him if he ever left his dreams. It's too bad that things worked out like this, but it couldn't be helped." She sighed as she remembered what had happened and why she had done it, but she knew that she had saved her brother at least with her sacrifice. That was all that mattered. "This isn't what I expected from the afterlife though at all. Oh, what did you mean by a long time? I just got here?" 

A deep voice came from the shadows within the building, startling both girls. "Time is irrelevant here. You could say that you both just got here, or you could say that one of you got here years ago. Maybe both of you arrived so long ago that it doesn't matter." 

It was Hokuto who found her voice first, of course. "Lurking in shadows does not lend well to a positive first impression. You startled us." 

The man who stepped out of the shadows had long white hair and rich brown skin. His smile was self-assured and his stance was both confident and sensual. "I am Ohtori Akio. Please, join me for tea." 

The three of them sat and Akio poured the tea. They were silent for a moment, drinking the tea, each waiting for another to break the silence. Again it was Hokuto who spoke up first, never one to keep silent when it was not necessary. "What is this place?" 

"This is Ohtori Academy, and I am the acting chairman here. You two are my honored guests...I brought you both here because I need your help." 

~@~

Kiryuu Touga stood in the shadows, waiting. The game was being brought to a new and probably dangerous level, but Akio had been acting with a strange intensity since his sister had disappeared. Hadn't something else happened at the same time? Some reason for her absence? Touga couldn't remember, but he somehow knew there was something important about those events. There was just something missing about that time, like a lock that everyone forgot had a key. 

He overheard words from the balcony as he waited. "Akio-san, you remind me of someone, but I can't remember who." 

It was the girl with the short, dark hair. 

As Touga watched, Akio bent forward with a kind smile. "Do I really, Hokuto-chan?" 

Hokuto nodded, a look of concentration on her face. "He was someone I knew...someone I knew very well...who was it? I should remember it, we were so close." 

"Ah, that would be the Lethe." 

The other girl, the blond, looked confused. "Lethe?" 

Hokuto answered with wide eyes. "The water of forgetfulness!" 

Akio leaned back in his chair, sensually casual. "Indeed." 

"Why?" 

"Because I need your help." He said it so simply, grinning the grin of a cat toying with its prey. 

Both girls leaped out of their chairs suddenly, only to slump down as the other potion in the tea took effect. This was Touga's cue, and he stepped out of the shadows finally. 

"Can't have the two of you remembering silly little details, like the fact you're both dead," Akio was saying gently as he sauntered over to the blonde. 

"These two are the ones you want?" 

"Almost perfect," came the murmured reply. "Though, Hokuto has the power I need, and Kotori has the temperament. It can't be helped though." 

"I'm almost scared to know what roll you expect me to play in all of this," Touga said as he bent over Hokuto's prone form, readying to pick her up. He took in the pixy cuteness of her features, smiling slightly. The way her dark hair curled up on her cheek almost reminded him of...reminded him of.... 

_Soft pink hair...wide blue eyes...innocent smile...determined, so determined...strong...and yet, ultimately feminine...._

He couldn't remember. The girl in his arms was a stranger to him, and he knew it. Even before the Lethe, she would not have known him. Still, something about her made him think of someone. "I don't remember," he whispered. 

Akio had lifted Kotori into his arms with ease and was now waiting with a small smile. "Is it so important that you remember everything?" His eyes glowed, and his expression promised...promised.... 

Promised pleasure that Touga could never refuse, if he only went along with it all. He suppressed a sigh of frustration, betrayed by his own impulses yet again. Well, things were about to begin again. He knew something had happened last year, something big and something important, but it was all gone. His only hope of ever remembering lay with helping Akio now, and he needed to know. He had a strange feeling that his very soul depended on those faint stirrings of memory that teased him like a faint scent on a spring breeze. 

Of course, going along with Akio had other, more immediate, and more physical rewards as well. 


	2. Casting Call

_Author's Note: I'd like to shout out a thank you to Atom for reviewing the first part of the prelude. Indeed, the support is appreciated! If you missed the first part, you can find it right there. It will still be coming out slowly, but hopefully that means better quality. _

The forecast calls for continued Utena spoilers... 

* * *

**_Added To, Taken From _**

Casting Call 

The Ohtori Academy was like a giant spider's web, but no one seemed to realize that. Not at first. It was a timeless place, holding people in place until their souls were ready to be consumed. A year ago Akio had thought of his sister as the spider at the center...and she had been so. It had all been for him though. To keep Akio safe. To keep Akio trapped. To keep Akio by her side forever so she could be the princess for once. 

Now she had left, and there was no spider. 

They were all still trapped though, and more people were finding their way into the web. With no spider to maintain the web, it was falling apart. Akio's prison became everyone's prison. Akio's haven became everyone's hell, and no one even realized it. 

Now Akio maintained the web alone. He was no longer acting chairman; that had been taken care of right away. He answered to no one now. He was no longer tethered by his sister's will, or the illusory will of the true chairman and his family. Yet, Akio could not break free. 

With his web he began to cast about for one who could break the web. Without a keeper, he could search for salvation as he pleased. Without a keeper, he could take what he needed and answer to no one. It didn't matter to him who he snared, as long as he could find the means to his freedom. 

That is how he caught Sumeragi Hokuto. That is how he caught Monou Kotori. And that is how he finally caught Sakurazuka Seishirou...and got much more than he could ever prepare for. 

~~~~~@~~~~~

Anyone who knew him would say it was a dangerous smile, but to the rest of the world it would seem sweet, almost kind. 

Seishirou was surprised and almost amused to see that smile echoed by the man who sat across the table from him. He raised a black gloved hand slowly to remove his sunglasses, adding a slight edge to his smile. "I'm not supposed to be here," he said in an even tone. 

The man simply nodded, calmly pouring tea for them both. "You're probably right," he finally answered, still smiling. "Do you want to leave?" 

"I suppose that depends on how interesting things will be around here," Seishirou said with an amused gleam in his eye. The guy had guts, he had to admit that. "Don't make me bored." 

"I don't think that will be a problem at this place," he murmured as he heard two sets of feet running out to meet them on the balcony. 

"Ohtori-san!" called out one girl's voice. 

"Akio-chan!" called out a different voice...one that was very familiar to Seishirou. It was a voice he had never expected to hear again. He had seen her as she died. In fact, he had killed her. 

Seishirou remembered his own death placidly, wondering if Hokuto would now start screeching at him for invoking her spell. He had done it deliberately of course--never forgetting for an instant that attempting to kill her brother would end his own life. She'd have to realize that that's why he was here, right? 

"Kotori-chan, how many times do I have to tell you that you don't have to be so formal here?" 

"Oh, sorry! It's just that I was scolded by the councilor today for being too familiar. She thinks I wasn't paying you enough respect since I'm just a student, and you're the chairman." 

Seishirou realized, as he watched the exchange, that he recognized Kotori as well. He had seen her with Shirou Kamui. She was Monou Fuuma's sister. 

This was very interesting indeed. 

He slowly replaced his sunglasses, watching the innocent banter the girls were involved in. Hokuto showed no hint of recognizing the assassin, and Seishirou found that somehow offensive. It went against some unnamed emotion deep within him. It was as unforgivable as his mother forgetting him...as unthinkable as ever forgetting Subaru. 

When Akio finally managed to smoothly get around to introductions, Seishirou smiled kindly and pretended nothing was amiss. He wasn't sure how he would use this for his advantage, but he was certain that he would. 

~~~~~@~~~~~

"Ohtori-san," Seishirou said, formal as ever. "What is this place? Do you even know yourself?" 

Akio smiled calmly, nodding. "I should know. This place is mine, in a sense." 

They were alone again, and sunset was coloring the grounds beneath the balcony. The tower was high enough that it stayed in the golden sunlight long after shadows had claimed the campus surrounding them. Seishirou pulled out a cigarette out of habit, lighting it with a casual air, remembering how he had shared his last cigarette while alive with the only person to actually mean a thing to him since he had killed his mother, so long ago. The memory made him smile. Sharing death with someone you loved was such an intimate thing.... 

"This is no ordinary school campus," he murmured. 

"No, it's not. You remember dying, don't you?" It was a question, but it was clear from the way he asked that Akio knew the answer already. 

"Yes. I was quite proud of that death, so it's a bit disconcerting to find myself somewhere unexpected. You're the master of this realm of the dead?" 

"In a way yes, and in a way--no." 

Seishirou paused to assess this, taking a deep drag on his cigarette to disguise the nature of his contemplation. The smile he finally gave the other man was cold and a bit triumphant. "Before I died, in a way I was Death Himself. I suspect you brought me here completely by accident." 

The chairman of the academy blinked, showing signs of a dawning awareness that he might be getting in over his head. Still, he held his ground. "I suppose you could kill me, and we would find out just how far this spell of my sister's will take things," he said dryly. 

Seishirou just smiled. 


End file.
